Kyiv and Moscow conclude prisoner exchange

Ukraine and Russia have completed their largest prisoner exchange since the war began. 303 prisoners of war were handed over to each side on Sunday. Since Friday, a total of 1,000 Ukrainian and 1,000 Russian prisoners have been released, as agreed. A few hours earlier, Russia had again targeted Ukraine with massive airstrikes. At least twelve people, including two children and a teenager, were killed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for increased pressure on Moscow.

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The exchange of prisoners of war was agreed upon on May 16 as the only concrete outcome of the first direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in three years in Istanbul. On Friday, both sides initially handed over 390 prisoners each. On Saturday, Ukraine and Russia each released 307 prisoners. Many of the released Ukrainians were emaciated and fell into the arms of their families, visibly exhausted and overjoyed.

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Despite the prisoner exchange, Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine over the weekend with undiminished ferocity. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian army attacked numerous regions in Ukraine overnight into Sunday with a total of 69 missiles and 298 combat drones. According to the report, the air defense intercepted 45 missiles and 266 drones. "Enemy airstrikes were reported in 22 locations, and debris from launched missiles and drones fell in 15 locations," the Air Force stated. 

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According to police, at least four people were killed and 23 others injured in the capital region. Emergency services called it a "night of terror." In the Zhytomyr region of northwestern Ukraine, rescue workers said three minors aged eight, twelve, and 17 were killed. Ten other people were injured in the attack. In the Khmelnytskyi region, west of Kyiv, four people were killed, according to local authorities. Nighttime attacks were also reported in the southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv. In Mykolaiv, a man was killed in a drone strike on a residential building, according to emergency services.

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Zelensky reiterated his call for increased pressure on the Kremlin. "Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped," he declared online on Sunday. He called on the US and its European allies to show "determination" to force Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to end the war. "America's silence, the silence of others around the world, only emboldens Putin," he added.

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EU foreign policy chief Kallas also called for "the strongest international pressure on Russia to end this war." The latest attacks demonstrate once again that Russia is determined to "increase the suffering and destroy Ukraine." Already on Saturday night, Ukraine reported massive Russian airstrikes, particularly on Kyiv. According to Ukrainian sources, Russia used a total of 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting 245 drones and six missiles. At least 15 people were injured in Kyiv alone.

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Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that about a dozen Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the Russian capital overnight into Sunday. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, air traffic at four Moscow airports had to be temporarily suspended. The Russian military stated that it had intercepted 110 Ukrainian drones nationwide overnight.

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Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have intensified in recent weeks. Putin, however, has ignored European calls for an unconditional ceasefire. He has so far shown no willingness to back down from his most pressing demands: control over the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia, and at least four other Ukrainian regions, Ukraine's renunciation of NATO membership, and its demilitarization. 

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Friday that, following the conclusion of the prisoner exchange, Moscow would send Ukraine a document outlining the terms of a "long-term agreement" to end the conflict. Ukraine is also expected to prepare a corresponding document, as agreed at the talks in Istanbul.